Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Trump World

America's first post-truth president will be sworn in as the
Nation's 45th chief executive at noon eastern time on January 20. Just exactly what
will happen after that seems so far to be unclear, including to his inner
circle and supporters. Trump marches to his own tune. One thing for sure,
though, is that the man who has pledged to "Make America Great Again" will
be making the Trump brand even greater.

While Trump lost
to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes in November's election, he did win
the votes necessary to secure the electoral delegates needed to become
president. He was propelled by a large group of Americans who are fed up
with Washington politics because for decades they have been left behind. They
had listened and believed all the past promises from red and blue politicians,
only to be pushed back into the dark background when the contest was completed.
They were taken for granted again and again.

Many Trump voters
came from aggrieved members of the working class who have seen technology and
globalization rip their livelihood and self-respect from their soul.
Politicians who busily courted special interests to perpetuate their
positions in government regularly ignored their plaintive cries. For
some, Bernie Sanders seemed to be an authentic alternative to the
status quo. But when he was pushed aside by the Democratic political
establishment, many of his supporters found Trump appealing.

To many Americans Washington needed
a wake up call. Washington needed to be shaken up. It was time for
a new reality, even if it was a post-truth reality. The aggrieved turned
to a loud, boisterous, politically incorrect, mendacious, prevaricating entertainer-real estate mogul. Trump appealed to their emotions
rather than their minds. They heard what they wanted to hear, and Trump
was their champion.

A recentPPP national pollfound that 67% of Trump voters believe
unemployment increased during the Obama presidency, when in fact it sharply
declined. Only 41% of Trump voters say the stock market went up during
the Obama administration, meaning most don't know that the market has almost
tripled over the past eight years. And 60% of Trump voters believe
Hillary Clinton received millions illegal votes, a lie that Trump has repeated
several times since the election.

But does the truth
really matter to these aggrieved voters? Many don't believe that Trump
will build a huge wall from one end of the Mexican-U.S. border to the other.
Many don't believe that Mexico will pay for the wall. They
certainly don't believe that Trump will deport all 11 million people who are
living in this country illegally. They certainly don't believe he will
ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. They certainly don't believe Trump
saw thousands of Muslims cheering in New Jersey when New York's World Trade
Center was attacked. They know it was a lie. They certainly don't
believe that Trump will bring back millions of manufacturing jobs as he has
promised.

What do they
believe? They believe Trump will "drain the swamp" of
politicians and bring an end to business as usual. They believe Trump has
their backs, that he hears their voices, that he will make their lives better.
They have given the president-elect a pass on releasing his federal tax
returns. They have given him a pass on eliminating his many
conflicts of interest. They don't care if he produces a reality
television show while in office. They don't care that he attacks the
press, evades serious questions, and regularly communicates via Twitter at all hours of the night.

Some have noted
that Trump has appointed wealthy bankers, experienced politicians and retired
generals to serve in his administration. While this seems to contradict
his promise to drain the swamp, so far they are giving him the benefit of a
doubt. The fact that Trump and some of his appointees are close to
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a ruthless and corrupt leader who views
America as the enemy, seems not to have resonated with the president elect's
supporters. So much for Ronald Reagan's evil empire!

Soon Trump will be
confronted with the full weight of the responsibilities that fall upon the
shoulders of America's president. He will actually have to make decisions.
Will he gradually replace the existing Medicare program, as the
Republican platform proposes, with a defined contribution program where seniors
will be provided a fixed amount of money to purchase private health insurance
of their own? Will he repeal Obamacare and leave millions of Americans
without healthcare? Will he push to overturn Roe v. Wade,the 1973 landmark Supreme Court
decision to legalize abortion? Will he go ahead with the controversial
Dakota Access Pipeline? He said he would make a decision soon after
taking office.

How will
President-elect Trump deal with President Putin? Will he move to ease sanctions on
Russia for its occupation of Crimea? Will he impose import tariffs on
Chinese products, even if it means higher prices in the U.S., and leads to the
cancellation of contracts for Boeing aircraft and other U.S. products?
Will he send U.S. troops into Syria? Will he implement his secret
plan to eliminate ISIS?

According to
an NBC/Wall
Street Journal poll, a majority of Americans are either uncertain
or pessimistic about his presidency. The country that he has vowed to unify
remains deeply divided. For sure, Trump's presidential campaign was
unconventional, but he made many enemies, including within the Republican
Party. So Trump make think all the world's a stage, and that he can bully and
bluster his way through his daily challenges. However, he will soon find
out that the presidency is not just a television show.

Thomas Jefferson once said, "No man will ever carry out of the Presidency the reputation which carried him into it." Let's hope so, because America’s future is at
stake, and all the world will be watching.

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About Me

Advisor to new media companies, journalism professor at Hofstra and NYU. Huffington Post Blogger. Founded Telemundo Network News in 1999 and served as Executive Vice President until 2006. President of Fox News in 1995 - 96. Vice President and Assistant to the President CBS News, 1989-1995. CBS News Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief, 1987-1989. THE CBS EVENING NEWS Senior Washington Producer, and earlier producer, 1979-1986. Producer CBS News Chicago bureau, 1976-1979. WBBM-TV News producer and assignment editor, 1970-1976.
Executive Vice-Chair of the Mental Health Association of NYC Board, Trustee at Gracie Square Hospital and Columbia College Chicago, and a member of the Council of Foreign Relations. MBA degree from Roosevelt U, 1978, BA from Columbia College Chicago, 1970.
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